http://apologeticspress.org/APContent.aspx?category=11&article=423
Will Those Who Have Never Heard the Gospel Be Lost?
[EDITOR’S NOTE: In the November 1999 issue of
Reason & Revelation,
we published the first of several articles by Sam Estabrook, who at the
time was serving as our Operations Manager (and who since has been
promoted to the position of Manager of Information Systems). In this
issue of
R&R, it is my pleasure to introduce to you Sam’s
older brother, Jim, who is our dedicated, hard-working General Manager.
Since joining us in September 1998, Jim (who turns 28 this month) has
become an invaluable part of our work. He is not only an extremely
talented, amazingly versatile jack-of-all-trades (who has become my
indispensable “right-hand man”), but a serious and careful student of
God’s Word as well. I have asked Jim to take the lead author’s position
on this month’s feature article. I commend to you both him and his
research efforts. Look for more to come from his pen in the future.]
We live on a planet populated by approximately six billion people.
Six billion!
And most of those, it probably would be safe to say, never have been
afforded the opportunity of hearing the gospel message about the
salvation that comes through Jesus Christ. Therefore, obviously, they
cannot respond in obedience to that saving message—even though they
might be willing to do so if presented with the prospect. What will
happen to these people? Will they be lost eternally? Or will God make
some kind of “special allowance” so that they can be saved and thereby
enjoy eternity in heaven with Him and His Son?
As we examine these kinds of questions, it is vitally important that we
remember two points. First, “the Judge of all the Earth”
will
“do right” (Genesis 18:25). God is every bit as infinite in His mercy
and His grace (Hosea 6:6; Matthew 9:13) as He is in His justice and His
severity (Hebrews 10:31). Second, since it is the Word of God that
instructs us regarding man’s eternal destiny, and since all men
eventually will be judged by that Word (John 12:48), it is to God’s Word
that we must go to find answers to inquiries concerning mankind’s
ultimate destiny. Fortunately, in His wisdom, God has not left us to our
own devices concerning matters that relate to our salvation. As
Jeremiah wisely observed: “It is not in man that walketh to direct his
steps” (10:23).
WILL A “LOVING GOD” CONDEMN PEOPLE
WHO HAVE NEVER HEARD THE GOSPEL?
There are those who suggest that surely God would not banish from His
presence for eternity those who never had an opportunity to hear and
obey the gospel message in the first place. Consider the following
examples. In his 1909 volume,
Systematic Theology, A.H. Strong wrote:
Since Christ is the Word of God and the Truth of God, he may be
received even by those who have not heard of his manifestation in the
flesh.... We have, therefore, the hope that even among the heathen there may be some...who under the guidance of the Holy Spirit working through the truth of nature and conscience, have found the way to life and salvation (p. 843, emp. added).
Approximately fifty years later, popular evangelical theologian Karl
Barth defended such a concept via what he called his “biblical
universalism.” He wrote: “We have no theological right to set any sort
of limits to the lovingkindness of God” (as quoted in Dyrness, 1983, p.
105). In commenting on Barth’s viewpoint, apologist Cornelius Van Til
wrote:
For Barth, man, as sinner, is, to be sure, under the wrath of God, but
this wrath is, itself, a form of the all-overreaching grace of God. There is no eternal punishment for those who are in Christ [because] there are no men who are not in Christ (1965, p. 38, emp. added).
Another modern-day evangelical, Neil Punt, invoked Barthian ideas in his book,
Unconditional Good News,
wherein he rejected the idea that sinners actually must believe and
obey the gospel in order to be saved because “It is an error to think
that there is
anything that
must be done to inherit eternal life” (1980, p. 135, emp. added). In
What the Bible Says about Salvation, Virgil Warren wrote:
Even some two thousand years after the Great Commission, more people in the world have not heard the gospel than have
heard it. The secret things do belong to God, but Christians and
non-Christians alike cannot help wondering about the justice as well as
the compassion of a God who assigns to eternal torment people who, for
reasons beyond their control, never heard about fellowship with him
through Jesus Christ.... Our opinion is that scripture does not automatically assign the unevangelized to endless hell (1982, pp. 104-105, first emp. in orig., last emp. added).
In their book,
Answers to Tough Questions, Josh McDowell and Don Stewart stated:
Although the Scriptures never explicitly teach that someone who has
never heard of Jesus can be saved, we do not believe that it infers
[sic] this. We do believe that every person will have an opportunity to
repent, and that God will not exclude anyone because he happened to be
born at the wrong place and at the wrong time (1993, p. 137).
Statements such as these certainly could cause some to conclude that
God simply will not judge the lost, but instead will deem them worthy of
eternal salvation merely (or solely!) because they never had an
opportunity in their lifetimes to hear the “good news” made available to
humankind through the gospel of Christ. While at first glance such a
notion may appear comforting, and may appease our human sensitivities,
the truth of the matter is that it has monstrous theological and
spiritual implications. Consider these facts.
CHRIST’S GREAT COMMISSION AND MAN’S
ALIENATION FROM GOD BECAUSE OF HIS SIN
First—in light of the commands inherent in the Great Commission given
by the Lord Himself prior to His ascension back into heaven—how can we
entertain any suggestion that the “unevangelized” will be saved?
Christ’s instructions were crystal clear: “Go ye therefore, and
make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit:
teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I commanded you...”
(Matthew 28:19-20). If the view is correct that the unevangelized
peoples of the world will be redeemed without ever having been exposed
to (and obeying) the gospel, then potentially we could be doing them
great harm if we carry out the Lord’s command and teach them the truth.
By introducing them to the gospel, we might well be condemning those who
otherwise would have been saved. When R.C. Sproul wrote his book,
Reason to Believe,
he expended considerable effort in explaining why such a position is
unscriptural. He prefaced his discussion with the following statements:
The unspoken assumption at this point is that the only damnable offense
against God is the rejection of Christ. Since the native is not guilty
of this, we ought to let him alone. In fact, letting him alone would be
the most helpful thing we could do for him. If we go to the native and
inform him of Christ, we place his soul in eternal jeopardy. For now he
knows of Christ, and if he refuses to respond to Him, he can no longer
claim ignorance as an excuse. Hence, the best service we can render is
silence (1981, p. 50).
Ponder the situation of a person who never has the opportunity to hear
the gospel. If the ideas expressed in some of the above quotations are
correct, then that person
will be saved necessarily. But what
about the person to whom we present the gospel message, and who then, of
his or her own personal volition, chooses (for whatever reason) to
reject it? Having spurned God’s offer of salvation through His Son, can
such a one
then be saved? Not according to God’s Word!
The writer of the book of Hebrews noted: “For if we sin wilfully after
that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no
more a sacrifice for sins” (10:26). In Luke 13:34-35, Christ Himself
lamented the rejection of the gospel message by His own Jewish brethren
(who had been presented with the gospel message, but had rebuffed it
repeatedly).
Oh Jerusalem, Jerusalem,...how often would I have gathered thy children
together, even as a hen gathereth her own brood under her wings, and ye would not! Behold, your house is left unto you desolate: and
I say unto you, Ye shall not see me, until ye shall say, “Blessed is he
that cometh in the name of the Lord” (Luke 13:34-35, emp. added).
Consider, too, the important spiritual principle set forth in Hebrews
6:4-6, which, although admittedly speaking about people who once had
accepted Christ as their Savior and then had abandoned their faith in
Him, nevertheless mentions those who at one time were “enlightened”
about Who He was and the salvation He offered—only to reject both Him
and that salvation. Would it not, then (if the views discussed above are
correct), be better simply to keep the Word of God “a secret” from the
heathen and the unevangelized so that they—as a result of their
ignorance—can be saved and not be put in the position of knowing the
gospel message and possibly rejecting it? In their book,
I’m Glad You Asked, authors Kenneth Boa and Larry Moody correctly observed:
Those who have heard the Gospel and rejected it are doubly guilty—they
have rejected not only the Father but also the Son. And the Scriptures
are clear about the judgment which awaits those who have refused God’s
offer of salvation. The wrath of God abides on them (John 3:36; cf. Heb.
2:3; 10:26-31) [1982, p. 160].
Second, those who suggest that the heathen and unevangelized will be
saved “as a result of their ignorance” of God’s law have failed to
realize that
such people are lost, not because they are ignorant of God’s law, but because they have sinned against Him.
Almost all humans recognize (albeit begrudgingly, at times) that
ignorance of the law does not excuse us from the law’s penalties and/or
punishments. [“But officer, I didn’t
know the speed limit was 15
miles per hour in the school zone.” “Yes, sir. The courthouse is open 8
to 5, Monday through Friday. You may pay the $150 speeding citation at
any time during those hours. Have a nice day.”] One must distinguish
between
knowledge of a law and the
existence of a law. If one must
know the law before he can
transgress
the law, then there would be no such thing as a “sin of ignorance.” Yet
the Bible speaks plainly of that very thing (Leviticus 4:2,22, 27; Acts
3:17; 17:30-31). Ignorance of the law is neither a legitimate excuse
nor an effective guarantee of salvation.
Paul wrote in Romans 2:12: “For as many as have sinned without law
shall also perish without the law: and as many as have sinned under the
law shall be judged by the law.” In his commentary on the book of
Romans, R.C.H. Lenski discussed Paul’s statement about those who “perish
without the law” when he wrote:
The only difference will be that those without the law will merely
perish without the law, while those with law will be judged by means of
law—two routes that lead to the same goal. Justice will be prominent in both instances;
for the Judge will not apply law to those who ended as nothing but
sinners without using anything like real law—that would be unfair. Nor will he need law in the case of these—they merely perish as the sinners that they are.
The only fair thing in the case of others who made law their boast will
be that the Judge uses this means when he pronounces judgment on them;
and the fact that this judgment will be one of condemnation is plain: “they did sin” exactly as those “did sin” of whom Paul just said “they will perish” (1961, p. 158, emp. added).
When people are lost, it is due to their having
sinned against God. Isaiah wrote:
Behold, Jehovah’s hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither
his ear heavy, that it cannot hear: but your iniquities have separated
between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, so
that he will not hear (59:1-2).
Boa and Moody commented:
Sin is a universal human condition (1 Kings 8:46; Ps. 51:5, Romans
3:9,23; 1 John 1:8), and it causes a breach between man and God (Isa.
59:2). Sin leads to death (Romans 6:23), and the wrath of God abides on
all who are separate from Christ (John 3:18,36). All have sinned, and
those who have not been “justified as a gift by His grace through the
redemption which is in Christ Jesus” (Romans 3:24) are under divine
condemnation (Romans 3:10-20; 5:16-19) and must stand before God in
judgment, because apart from Christ we are enemies of God (Romans
5:10).... People are not lost because they have not heard. They are lost because they are sinners. We die because of disease, not because of ignorance of the proper cure (1982, p. 147, emp. added).
Man is lost as a result of being afflicted with the horrible “disease”
of sin—a condition that, unless treated, always is fatal (Romans 6:23).
Because God is depicted within Scripture not only as loving (2
Corinthians 13:11; 1 John 4:7-16) and merciful (James 5:11), but also as
holy (Psalm 22:3) and just (Psalm 89:14; Isaiah 45:19; Revelation
16:7),
He cannot (and will not!) overlook sin.
It must be (and will be!) punished. But is there a remedy for this terminal disease known as “sin”? And if so, what is it?
Yes, fortunately there is a remedy for mankind’s otherwise lethal condition. He
can
have his sins forgiven. The great Old Testament prophet Isaiah wrote:
“Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be white as snow; though
they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool,
if ye be willing and obedient”
(Isaiah 1:18-19). The key phrase, of course, is “willing and obedient.”
But willing to do what? And obedient to what command? To be washed in
the cleansing blood of Jesus Christ as God has decreed! The blood of
bulls and goats never was able to take away man’s sins, no matter how
unblemished the sacrificial animal(s) may have been. But the blood of
Christ can (Hebrews 10:4-18).
And it is the only thing that will! The
Scriptures speak clearly to this fact when they state that Christ shed
His blood on the cross for our sins (1 Corinthians 15:3; Romans 5:8-9),
and that He is the “lamb of God that taketh away the sins of the world”
(John 1:29). Furthermore, it is
only through Christ that a person can be saved from the wrath of God (cf. Romans 5:1, 8:1, and Hebrews 10:31).
The inspired writers of the New Testament placed great emphasis upon
the necessity of being “in Christ.” In the American Standard Version of
the Bible, the phrase “in Christ” appears 89 times in 88 verses. The New
Testament makes it clear that it is only when a person is “in Christ”
that he has “redemption” (Romans 3:24), “eternal life” (Romans 6:23),
“every spiritual blessing” (Ephesians 1:3), “forgiveness” (Colossians
1:14), and “salvation” (2 Timothy 2:10). Those who have been baptized
“into Christ” (which is how the Bible tells us we get into
Christ—Galatians 3:27; Romans 6:3-4) will not be condemned (Romans 8:1).
What is the logical implication? Those outside of Christ will not have
forgiveness, salvation, or eternal life, but will be condemned for their
sins. Whether a person has never heard of Christ or whether he simply
has heard of Him but not obeyed Him, that person is outside of Christ.
According to the apostle Paul, any person who fits into either category
will be lost eternally. He said that Jesus will render “vengeance to
them that know not God” and to those who “obey not the gospel of our
Lord Jesus” (2 Thessalonians 1:8). He further described these
unbelievers as those “who shall suffer punishment, even eternal
destruction from the face of the Lord and from the glory of his might”
(2 Thessalonians 1:9).
While it is true that knowledge of both God’s existence and His
“everlasting power and divinity” may be gleaned from the general
revelation He has provided of Himself in nature (cf. Romans 1:19-20,
Psalm 19:1, Acts 14:17, and Hebrews 3:4), that revelation is limited,
and cannot explain to man what to do to be saved. As impressive, as
powerful, and as pervasive as general revelation is, it nevertheless is
deficient in and of itself. For many, nature has ceased to be a
perspicuous revelation of God. It may have been so before sin entered
the world, but even if it were, man’s nature now has become so polluted
that he steadfastly refuses to read the divine script around him.
General revelation simply is not enough. It never was intended to be. It
does not afford man the reliable knowledge of the nature of God, of his
sin against God, of his need for Jesus Christ as his Savior, and other
important spiritual information that he absolutely
must know in
order to be saved. It therefore is inadequate (by itself) as the sole
foundation of a person’s faith. From nature alone, man never would be
able to infer the need for a personal Savior.
That fact—that from nature alone man never would be able to infer the
need for a personal Savior—is critically important in the present
discussion. As J.I. Packer noted: “The Bible says that God’s general
revelation, even when correctly grasped, yields knowledge of creation,
providence, and judgment only,
not of grace that restores sinners to fellowship with God”
(1973, p. 115, emp. added). This assessment is correct. If a person
does not know that he stands in need of a personal Savior; if he does
not know Who that Savior is; if he does not know how to be “willingly
obedient” to that Savior; and if he does not know how to appropriate the
salvation that comes only through that Savior, then how can he possibly
know how to get rid of his sins in order to stand sanctified before
God? Jesus Himself said in John 14:6: “
I am the way, and the truth, and the life:
no one cometh unto the Father, but by me” (emp. added). In a discussion of this verse, Gene Burgett noted:
The phrase “no one cometh unto the Father, but by me” is clearly a universal negative
which states in positive terms, “all men who come to the Father, come
by me.” If the only ones who come to the Father are those who come by
way of Jesus Christ, then it is apparent that all who do not know Jesus will be lost.
There can be no salvation in Buddha, Mohammed, Hari Krishna, or any
other name other than the name of Jesus (Acts 4:12) [1993, p. 176, emp.
in orig.].
If people could be saved in times past—and can be saved today—without
the sacrifice of God’s Son (and they cannot—cf. Hebrews 10:4-10 and Acts
4:12),
then why would God have sent Him to Earth in the first place?!
The fact of the matter is, God promised salvation only to those who
hear the gospel message (Romans 10:17), believe on His Son (John 3:16),
confess Christ’s name (Matthew 10:32-33), repent of their sins (Luke
13:3), have those sins remitted through baptism (Acts 2:38; 22:16; 1
Peter 3:21), and remain faithful (Revelation 2:10). Subsequent to the
Day of Pentecost, Peter called upon his listeners to: “Repent ye
therefore, and turn again, that your sins may be blotted out” (Acts
3:19). The word for “blotted out” derives from a Greek word meaning to
“wipe out, erase, or obliterate.” The New Testament uses the word to
refer to “blotting out” the old law (Colossians 2:14) and to “blotting
out” a person’s name from the Book of Life (Revelation 3:5). One of the
great prophetical utterances of the Old Testament was that “their sin
will I remember no more” (Jeremiah 31:34).
There was no happy solution to the justice/mercy dilemma. There was no
way that God could remain just (since justice demands that the wages of
sin be paid) and yet save His Son from death. Christ was abandoned to
the cross so that mercy could be extended to sinners who stood condemned
(Romans 3:23; 6:23). God could not save sinners by fiat—upon the ground
of mere authority alone—without violating His own attribute of divine
justice. Paul discussed God’s response to this problem in Romans 3:24-26
when he stated that those who are saved are
...justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in
Christ Jesus; whom God set forth to be a propitiation, through faith, in
his blood...for the showing of his righteousness...that he might
himself be just and the justifier of him that hath faith in Jesus.
Mankind’s salvation was no arbitrary arrangement. God did not decide
merely to consider men sinners, and then determine to save them via a
principle of mercy and grace. Sin had placed men in a state of
antagonism toward God that was so severe, men were referred to by
inspiration as God’s “enemies” (Romans 5:10). Mankind’s sin could be
forgiven, and men once again could become God’s friends, only as a
result of the vicarious death of God’s Son.
CONCLUSION
Some have suggested that Christians are narrow-minded when they suggest that mankind’s salvation can be found
only in Jesus Christ. Truth, however,
is narrow! In addressing this point, Kurt DeHaan wrote:
Would you call a nutritionist narrow-minded if he said that a human
can’t survive very long without food or water? Is an aerospace engineer
pigheaded to propose that the only way to fly to the moon is by
spacecraft, not by hang glider? Is it scientific bigotry to say that
gasoline can burn but water cannot? Is it mathematical prejudice to
claim that two plus two equals four, not three, five, or twenty-two? The
issue is a matter of truth, not a matter of bigotry or prejudice (1988,
p. 4).
Truth is a precious and priceless commodity—which no doubt explains why
the Proverbs writer admonished: “Buy the truth, and sell it not”
(23:23). Jesus Himself said: “You shall
know the truth, and the truth shall make you free” (John 8:32, emp. added).
But what about sincerity? Does it count for nothing? While sincerity
certainly is important in a relationship with God, the fact of the
matter is that God does not want just
sincerity; He wants
obedience.
Saul (who later would be called Paul) was “sincere” in his persecution
of Christ’s church, and even did what he did to oppose it “in all good
conscience” (Acts 23:1; 22:19-20; Galatians 1:13; 1 Corinthians 15:9),
yet God struck him blind (Acts 9:3-9). Paul later would admit in his own
writings that he was sincere, but
sincerely wrong. DeHaan observed:
Isn’t it enough to be sincere? No, it’s not. Sincerity is important, but it’s not an adequate substitute for knowing the truth.
Sincerity doesn’t pass a college entrance exam. Sincerity doesn’t win
an automobile race. Sincerity doesn’t repair a broken washing machine.
Sincerity won’t bake the perfect cake. And sincerity won’t pay your rent
or mortgage. Sincerity will not fill the gap when there is a lack of
skill or knowledge, nor will all the sincerity in the world transform
error into truth (1988, p. 8, emp. added).
While the Lord certainly wants us to be sincere, He also requires
something else, which is why He instructed: “If ye love me, ye will keep
my commandments” (John 14:15).
The truth of the Lord is narrow, as Jesus made clear in His beautiful
Sermon on the Mount (read specifically Matthew 7:13-14). In fact, Christ
observed: “Not everyone that saith unto me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter
into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father who
is in heaven” (Matthew 7:21). Jesus later commented on the attitude of
the people of His day when He said: “This people honoreth me with their
lips, but their heart is far from me. But in vain do they worship me,
teaching as their doctrines the precepts of men” (Matthew 15:8-9).
Consider, for example, the account related in 2 Samuel 6 about Uzzah.
God had given the Israelites explicit instructions about the
construction of the Ark of the Covenant (see Exodus 25:10-22). It was to
be made of acacia wood and covered with gold. It was to have two
gold-covered, acacia-wood rings on each side, through which two
gold-covered, acacia-wood staves could be placed in the event that it
had to be moved (Exodus 37:1-5). But He also had given the Israelites
explicit instructions about the
transportation of the Ark. It was
to be carried only by those from the priestly tribe of Levi,
specifically the Kohathites (Numbers 7:9). [The Kohathites descended
from Kohath, the second son of Levi; the other two groups were the
Gershonites and Merarites (cf. Numbers 3:17ff.). The members of the
tribe of Levi also were charged with carrying other items of religious
significance, including the altars, lampstand, sanctuary vessels, etc.,
associated with the Tabernacle (see Numbers 3:31).] The Ark was to be
moved only after it had been appropriately covered by a blue cloth. And
the Israelites (even the Kohathites) were commanded—upon penalty of
death—never to touch the Ark (Numbers 4:15,19-20).
King David had ignored each of God’s commands in regard to the
transportation of the Ark. God had not commanded that the Ark be moved,
and it certainly was not being moved in the manner prescribed by His
law. The Ark had been placed on an ox cart being tended by two
brothers—Uzzah and Ahio (the latter of whom, apparently, was driving the
cart). The text says simply: “the oxen stumbled.” Uzzah—no doubt
believing that the precious cargo was about to tumble from the cart and
be dashed to bits—reached up to steady the Ark. And the moment Uzzah
touched the Ark, God struck him dead!
Was Uzzah sincere in his attempt to protect one of the Israelites’ most
priceless and treasured possessions? Undoubtedly he was. But his
sincerity was for nought
because he disobeyed. Note specifically the Bible’s statement that “God smote him there
for his error” (2 Samuel 6:7). God’s commands were explicit; His truth was narrow. Uzzah ignored that truth—and died for having done so.
Will those who never have heard the gospel be lost—even though they
might be “sincere”? Indeed they will be! Their separation from God
throughout eternity will have been caused by two factors: (1) they
sinned against God; and (2) they had not been taught—and thus were not
able to take advantage of—the gospel plan of salvation that was offered
to all men as the free gift of God (Romans 5:15-21; 6:23b) to restore
them to a covenant relationship with Him.
For those of us who
do know the truth regarding what men must do to be saved, the burden to share that truth with those who
do not know it
presses down with unrelenting fury. When Philip stood in the chariot of
the Ethiopian eunuch who had been to Jerusalem to worship, he asked:
“Understandest thou what thou readest?” That Ethiopian gentleman’s
response still burns in our ears over two thousand years later: “How can
I, except some one shall guide me?” (Acts 8:30-31). That is the
Christian’s job—to gently guide the lost into “the way of salvation”
(Acts 16:17). In 2 Corinthians 4:5-7, Paul wrote:
For we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus as Lord, and ourselves as
your servants for Jesus’ sake.... But we have this treasure in earthen
vessels, that the exceeding greatness of the power may be of God, and
not from ourselves.
A chapter earlier, the apostle had reminded those first-century
Christians at Corinth: “Ye are...an epistle of Christ...written not with
ink, but with the Spirit of the living God; not in tables of stone, but
in tables that are hearts of flesh” (2 Corinthians 3:2-3).
What a blessed opportunity—and onerous responsibility—to be the
“earthen vessel,” the “living epistle,” used by the Lord to bring
another soul back into His fold. Realizing that “he who converteth a
sinner from the error of his way shall save a soul from death, and shall
cover a multitude of sins” (James 5:20), and knowing the “goodness and
severity of God” (Romans 11:22), dare we countenance failure? No!
Speaking on God’s behalf, the prophet Ezekiel warned:
I have made thee a watchman.... Therefore hear the word at my mouth,
and give them warning from me. When I say unto the wicked, “Thou shalt
surely die,” and thou givest him not warning, nor speakest to warn the
wicked from his wicked way, to save his life; the same wicked man shall
die in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at thy hand.
Yet if thou warn the wicked, and he turn not from his wickedness, nor
from his wicked way, he shall die in his iniquity; but thou hast
delivered thy soul (Ezekiel 3:17-19, emp. added).
Those who never have heard—and thus never have obeyed—the truth of the gospel message
will be lost! And if we do not do our utmost to get that message to them—so will we! While the unevangelized may
be lost, they do not have to
remain lost. And we may be all that stands between them and an eternity of separation from God.
REFERENCES
Boa, Kenneth and Larry Moody (1982),
I’m Glad you Asked (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books).
Burgett, Gene (1993), “What About Those Who Have Never Heard?,”
Whatever Happened to Heaven and Hell?, ed. Terry M. Hightower (San Antonio, TX: Shenandoah Church of Christ).
DeHaan, Kurt (1988),
What About Those Who Have Never Heard? (Grand Rapids, MI: Radio Bible Class), [a tract].
Dyrness, William (1983),
Christian Apologetics in a World Community (Downers Grove, IL: Inter-Varsity Press).
Lenski, R.C.H. (1961),
The Interpretation of St. Paul’s Epistle to the Romans (Minneapolis, MN: Augsburg).
McDowell, Josh and Don Stewart (1993),
Answers to Tough Questions (Nashville, TN: Nelson).
Packer, J.I. (1973), “Are Non-Christian Faiths Ways of Salvation?,” [Part IV of a series titled, “The Way of Salvation”],
Bibliotheca Sacra, April.
Punt, Neil (1980),
Unconditional Good News (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans).
Sproul, R.C. (1981),
Reason to Believe (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan).
Strong, A.H. (1909),
Systematic Theology (Philadelphia, PA: Judson Press).
Van Til, Cornelius (1965),
Karl Barth and Evangelicalism (Philadelphia, PA: Presbyterian and Reformed).
Warren, Virgil (1982),
What the Bible Says about Salvation (Joplin, MO: College Press).
